I spent some time at the local soccer field this afternoon. I’m back at the shop, and still grinning! This is the field that I usually think of as “where kite designs go to die.” Consistently some of the worst wind in which I’ve ever flown. It’s the size of three soccer fields ringed by 150ft pines. Wind shifts of almost 180 degrees every few minutes, with speeds cycling from 2-18 mph. This is the place where I take kites when I want to see what they’re made of, and what they’ll tolerate. I think this is the first kite that I’ve taken to this field that didn’t leave me in a pool of despair.
I’m currently calling it the TR-10, but that may change (Trion?). TR for tri-radial, which is the building block for my MacStar and 61/49, and 10 for the number of 3-part triangles (30 panels!) of which the kite is constructed. The panels in our triangles can be individually oriented to best handle the stresses the kites generate. I find it a fun and efficient building block. The TR-10 takes a modified Rokkaku shape, largely driven by the shape of the blocks. This classic form will make a great segue into the designs I have planned to follow!
I’m off to the beach this Friday morning for a kite festival. I have no doubt the TR-10 prototype will handle the Cape Fear winds in great style! I’m confident enough that I’m rolling directly from prototype to pre-order. Please look for a link to the pre-order shop page tonight. Moving this project back to the development queue.
Very nice design, I love the geometry available with the cubist design.
I like the name TR-10 (though Trion reminds me of the Trigon – the HQ made 3 line kite which was crap)